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I have found at times it is surprisingly easy to identify people that I know on the forum - so posts aren't really anonymous. Also if you look back through previous messages you can easily see which year group someone's dc is in.

That is good to hear

This may be the case...or there may be other reasons why the teacher is less enthusiastic about the alternative scheme.

When my dd lived in Medlock many years ago we were glad that we chose the 51 week option - it meant she had option to stay in Manchester for work during the holidays if she wanted to, and didn't have to move everything out at the end of the year. In the end she stayed in the same room in the same flat for 3 years

Hi @Novice dance parent - is your dc currently auditioning for jobs or schools/colleges?

Self confidence is so important, in dance as well as in the rest of life, so if the scheme that your dd is attending is knocking that out of her then maybe it isn't the right place for her right now. Feeling like the 'worst' in the class is really no good for anyone, especially if she still feels like this however hard she tries. Much better I think to feel that you are a shining star amongst equals. The only thing I would say, in terms of smaller schemes, is make sure that the teaching is good, and the young people are well looked after. If you know other people who have used the scheme so much the better. If your dd's dance teacher is dismissive see if you can find out a little more about what their concerns are. See if they have any other suggestions. At the end of the day, a person can't flourish in an environment which doesn't suit them, however prestigious it might be.

There could be lots of reasons - try not to read too much into it

So sorry for those who haven't been awarded an MDS. It is so tough, and disappointing, but remember that they were good enough to be invited to the MDS audition - that is a great achievement. Keep on going (if that is what your DC wants). There is a lot of reshuffling at 16, and various funding options, so that is something to work towards for the older ones.

Hi @sillysally - I'm so sorry to hear of your DD's rejection emails. Thought you might find this thread worth a look if you haven't already seen it.. I think the way we handled it was to not dwell too much on what could have been - but move on quickly to the next opportunity. I would look into the possibility of summer schools or associate schemes to give her something to look forward to. And discuss with her teachers how she might move forward in the future. If that is what she still wants to do. On the other hand, on reflection she may decide that enough is enough, and that she has taken the dance journey as far as she can. If she does make this decision be ready to support her in that too.

If your dc is anything like mine was they will be very excited at the prospect of living independently. My dd lived in a flat in student accommodation through her 3 years at Northern Ballet School. Here are my thoughts on what helps to make it work. 1. If possible share a flat with other dance students. Students on other courses will all be older, and will be living in a different time zone to the dance students, staying up later and getting up later, which can become a problem. 2. We paid dd's rent up front - it never went into her bank account so there was never a risk of her not being able to pay her rent. 3. Make sure that they know how to do their own laundry before they go away. 4. Make sure that they know how to clean the kitchen/bathroom (obviously it is important that they get lots of practice at this before they go!) 5. Make sure that they have practiced and perfected cooking a few simple meals. 6. Good internet if possible - even more important now than it was back then. And phone contracts with unlimited calls and texts if you can afford it. 7. Be prepared for homesickness. Even if they really want to be there, this can be a big factor. My dd was fine in her first term, but then very homesick in her second. 8. Some people say it is best that they don't come home at weekends. In the end it worked best for my dd if she did come home at weekends, as her flat mates were often away at weekends too. 9. If possible chose accommodation close to college. They have long, physical days, so commuting would be very tiring on top of that.

An excellent analysis Jan. I remember a conversation with my dd on a long car journey during her graduate year when she talked through these type of odds. When you factor in the international competition the odds are even longer. I think she wanted to explain to us why she was broadening her options, and by the end of the journey I was clear how small the chances were of her getting a ballet contract. It didn't deter her from applying for every vacancy, and going to every open audition that she could, but she also broadened her outlook and applied for other dance jobs too, which is how she ended up working on cruise ships. She was determined to work as a dancer and to get paid for it (the latter was very important to her).

This is a really interesting idea. Whilst I agree that it would be good if there was a mechanism for graduates to get company experience, there's something in me that feels that expecting someone to work for nothing for any length of time is wrong. In fact I think that UK employment laws might make this very difficult. It sounds as if Aud Jebsen is more work experience as part of their course at RBS - which is an excellent approach for those schools which have links with companies. For graduates seeking their first employment, it would be good if there were ballet apprenticeships under the government's Higher Apprenticeship scheme. That way they get the experience, and get paid, but at a lower salary to reflect the fact that they are still training.

That too.

I love this article @kate_N. I remember reading it back in the first lock down and it really helped me to get control on some of my panic and put things into perspective. This article published by the government at the end of last year makes interesting reading along similar lines. Particularly the risk tables at the end. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/phe-factors-contributing-to-risk-of-sars-cov2-transmission-in-various-settings-26-november-2020 For me this helps to understand some of the decisions which have been made.

Just to be clear - I wasn't suggesting that they shouldn't do any summer intensives - just that having rest time is important too.

I think this may be one of the main reasons that some vocational schools don't seem to encourage summer schools. They work very hard at vocational school and bodies need time to rest. When dd was dancing on ships her company tried to give dancers at least 6 weeks between contracts, not only so that they had time to go home, but to give them time to rest and recover from any injuries that they might have been pushing through during their contracts. I think most ballet companies have complete breaks as well.

Sorry if this seems obvious - but have you checked that an email hasn't gone into your 'junk' mail? I suspect the generic email was an automated reply. In answer to your question of whether you would usually be informed if you had been unsuccessful - I've never heard of a school which doesn't notify candidates that they have been unsuccessful. But it is not uncommon for results to come out at different times, and there could be various reasons for this. Still worth chasing up if you don't get a proper reply to your latest email soon though!

I often thought my dd and her friends would be better without the parents around when it came to auditions. I think your dc's will be fine and will have a wonderful time. The staff will look after them.

Are they still advertising like this? While we were in the EU it made sense because, generally, UK passports would have been considered EU passports from that point of view. And EU citizens had the same rights to work in the UK as UK citizens.

On the plus side..at least you found this out now rather than on 10th March. But isn't it ridiculous that testing availability is a postcode lottery. Our local authority website, under its Community Testing heading says...Children of all ages can be tested by both PCR or LFT, at the discretion of their parents or guardians. Guidance is available on how to do this when you attend a testing site. However I haven't the need for it, so don't know how they are operating this in practice.

Congratulations to all those who have been offered finals places. It does seem like a lot this year, but I think we have a particularly active cohort of Year 7 and 8 parents this year So sorry for those who haven't been offered a final audition. That was my dd every year for RBS. (She kept trying though!)

'Signed off the letters' may simply mean she's agreed the wording of the letters. Try not to get too tied up with when and how the results will land. Sit back and enjoy half term if you can. (But I still remember when my dd was waiting for results, the butterflies in my tummy when I opened the front door, the anticipation of whether the post man had been or not. And then if there was an envelope and it was addressed to her, the wait until she got home from school, or ballet - assessing it's thickness trying to second guess the contents! I'm quite glad I didn't have this forum back then. It would have been even worse if I knew other people had got post and we hadn't!)

I don't see @Theodore19's ds's experience as negative. He lived the dream that he had when he was a young child. That helped to make him the man he became in his new chosen career with Mercedes Benz. One of the hardest, but most crucial things that we do as dancing parents is to support our DC's as their journeys change.

I suspect this is to discourage ambitious parents from over-rehearsing their children which would be of little benefit and might result in a jaded performance in the video.

It must be so difficult for this year's and last year's graduates. Going back to when my dd graduated many years ago, her approach was to apply for pretty much anything going. This included ballet companies, contemporary companies, West End shows, cruise ships, post-grad courses, small local projects. She took the view that the more auditions she went to the greater her chances. I appreciate there will be MUCH less around at the moment and the competition will be much fiercer, but if you are less selective about what you apply for you may have more options. That's all I can suggest really. It must be so tough.